As mentioned previously, we had tickets to see the exhibit of artifacts from the tomb of “King Tut” at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.  The exhibit was very well done (it’s still here, so if you haven’t seen it yet, we recommend it).  They had maps of the tomb, and set up each room to resemble the rooms in the tomb.  We were able to get close to each of the items, which showed the amazing detail and craftsmanship from thousands of years ago.  It’s timeless art, to be sure.  We were also pleased to see that some of the items reflected ancient Egypt’s relationship with Ethiopia.  These are two of the oldest continuous “nations” (societies?) on earth, and it’s helpful for our boys to see the respect with which their native land is portrayed).

After we finished the exhibit, we went up in the Space Needle.  In past trips to Seattle, there had always been a valid reason for not taking the boys up in the Needle, such as weather (why pay if you can’t see anything?) or time constraints.  This time it was perfect!  Both boys enjoyed the trip and then the shopping in the store.  Sary-Jo and I have been up in the Needle numerous times, but we still enjoy the magnificent view of the city, the water, the mountains, etc.

Following the Needle, we visited a fairly new attraction, which is a Dale Chihuly glass art garden.  It was truly amazing (expensive, but amazing)!

We finished the day with dinner at our favorite Puerto Rican restaurant, La Isla.  Not only is it the only Puerto Rican restaurant in Seattle, it’s also really good.

Enjoy the pictures from this fantastic day.

Daniel & David at Lake Tapps

We celebrated Independence Day with quite a few friends this year.  We spent a good portion of the day at Lake Tapps thanks to our friends and hosts, Don and Kathleen.  Every year they open their beautiful home to numerous friends in order to celebrate the 4th of July.  Plus, the weather was fantastic this year.  We enjoyed eating and catching up with friends while the boys played (& eating), including spending a bit of time relaxing in the lake.

For (more eating and) fireworks, we went to the home of some other friends in Tacoma.  This wonderful couple also hosts our church small group, which is focused on adoption support.  Their stately home overlooks Commencement Bay and has a great view of the fireworks from their upstairs terrace.  There were many kids there, and Daniel & David played soccer with them for quite a while until it was time for fireworks.

The Pacific Science Center has always been one of our favorite places.  On the 3rd of July, Sary-Jo took the boys and one of their friends, Michael, to the Science Center.  They sampled the exhibits, rode the elevated bicycle, and generally had a good time.  In addition, they watched two IMAX movies to prepare for the King Tut exhibit, which we were to see in two days.  One of the movies was about King Tut and the other was about the mysteries of Egypt.

Click the picture above to see more from that day.

Daniel & David made such great progress during this past school year!  It is amazing to see how well they’ve adapted, and how much they’ve learned, in less than three years.  This was their second full year of school, with Daniel in 5th grade and David in 3rd.  Our goal was – and remains – to have them up to grade level in all areas by high school.  The chief measure of school progress is report cards and teacher conferences.  By all accounts, Daniel and David are way (WAY!) ahead of schedule for our expectations.  David is excelling in virtually every academic area, and his outgoing personality – coupled with his ability to see what’s going on all around him – cause him to be seen as a leader.  He is learning to embrace this leadership mantle, but it’s not something he seeks out.  Daniel is also doing well academically, having scored at or above grade level in all areas.  His work ethic (and Sary-Jo’s tutelage) account for a good portion of that.  Homework requires a great deal of effort, but he perseveres and gets it done.  We pray that, over time, the work will get easier for him.  But he is able to do it and to do it well.

Both boys receive awards at school for a number of reasons.  Essentially, they have tremendous character and always treat others with respect.  They are popular with staff and students alike.  This year they were specifically recognized for: track (both), equipment team (David), band (Daniel), student council (Daniel), exceeding goals in Accelerated Reader (both), and participating in the Science Fair (Daniel).  We are excited about 6th and 4th grades coming up in a few weeks.

Click on the picture above to see a few more from the end-of-year awards assembly and to see each boy with his teachers.

Alyssa is going to high school next year, which means she ended the school year with the 9th grade dance.  Those of you in Puyallup know what a big deal it is!  Sary-Jo and the boys went over to take a few pictures of this beautiful niece.  Click the picture to see more.

One of the reasons I fell behind on the blog is that I knew that getting Father’s Day weekend on here was going to take some serious effort.  And even with great effort, the blog entry will not do the weekend justice – it was just too spectacular to try to summarize.  Nevertheless, it’s time, so enjoy the following post.

What a weekend!  It started late Wednesday evening when Janel & Ryan walked in the house.  I (Randy) had no idea they were coming and that would have been sufficient to make it an awesome Father’s Day, but that was just the beginning.  On Thursday, we went to Daniel’s baseball game.  The weather was great and the team played well (I don’t remember the outcome).

When I went to work on Friday morning, I took my baseball clothes to be ready for David’s game.  After work I changed and met Sary-Jo, the boys, Janel & Ryan in the car.  At that moment I learned we weren’t going to David’s game – we were going to the Mariners game in Seattle!  It was a beautiful night at Safeco Field and we thoroughly enjoyed the game and the company.  The Giants beat the Mariners so Ryan was pretty happy about the outcome.

Saturday was also rather busy.  Janel & Ryan visited some friends in the morning.  In the early afternoon, we all headed across the bridge to Port Orchard for a soccer game.  Daniel’s team was playing a practice game and, because a few kids were unable to make it, David was invited to play with them.  We really enjoy it when the boys are on the field together, and having Janel & Ryan there made it even better.  We had to hustle back to Puyallup for our niece Lauren’s graduation ceremony.   It was a very nice ceremony and, in true Puyallup fashion, the graduates got soaked by the rain.  After that, we had a wonderful quiet dinner together at Black Angus.

Next comes Sunday (those paying attention probably figured that out all on your own). I was told that I could not go to church because we had “to leave” before church would be over.  Then I learned that we were leaving for another Mariners vs. Giants game.  But there was more… much more.  Janel had planned ahead with other family members, so this was to be a group outing.  In fact, there were twenty family members joining us.  We were to meet up with a few at my parents house in Auburn.  Mike and Mary met us there, which brought our number up to 10.  Let’s see, how do we get ten people to Seattle in style?  Oh, that would be the stretch limo!  Once we arrived at the ballpark, I learned that we were going to watch the game from a private suite.  We had such a great time visiting even while keeping a watchful eye on the game (well, some of us did).  It was an exciting game, with the home team winning with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 9th inning.  During the game, one of the stadium attendants took us into the Earl Averill suite, since it was unoccupied for this game.  She took group pictures with Grandpa’s uniform.  When the game was over, we made our way back to the limo and didn’t worry about all the traffic.  What an awesome day!  Thank you to all who were a part of it and especially to Janel for being the spark to get it all going!